


Alternate Origins of the Same Person

by BlueLuigi



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Inklings and Octarians Coexist, Alternate Universe - The Octarians Win The Great Turf War, Dystopia, End of the World, Gen, Inkling-Octoling Hybrids, Magic, POV First Person, Parallel Universes, Pre-Splatoon 2, and maybe kinda sad, it gets weird, sanity slippage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-10-13 05:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20577038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueLuigi/pseuds/BlueLuigi
Summary: Two of the same person experience the end of the world.





	1. Red's World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein a boy who's never known conflict has his mind destroyed.

It was a pretty good morning, all things considered. I guess I rolled out of the right side of the bed that day. I slide down the banister right outside my bedroom door and strolled into the kitchen. My little sister was goofing off with her coloring book on the floor.

"Emmerich!" she shouted as I walked by. I looked over to see her gesturing to herself in irritation.

I gave her a greeting slurred by sleep, but still she gave me a toothy, satisfied grin with her chipped beak and went back to coloring.

She was really looking forward to Mom coming home from her business trip the next day. She'd been gone for months and rarely had time to call. We all understood that it was her job, she had to do it, business business, company secrets and all that...y'know, all the usual stuff. Dad had his own stuff going on, so Caloe really only had me to hang out with. My friends didn't mind her tagging along when we went out to the Plaza and stuff, and she _did_ have fun with us, but after a while, it stopped...I dunno, filling the void, I guess? So when Mom finally called after weeks of radio silence and told us she'd be home soon, I thought Caloe was gonna explode.

I grabbed one of those instant breakfast drinks Dad introduced me to, much to Caloe's disliking.

"Ricky, you have to actually eat food for once!"

I groaned in annoyance. Not because of her tone or anything, but because she was right. Dad bought me these things because I'd been busy, but even after that wasn't the case, I still downed at least one a day. I'd been meaning to go back to eating regular food instead of drinking these dumb drinks, but...well, there's gotta be worse things to be addicted to, right? Though, looking back on it, I suspect Caloe also wanted me to make her pancakes before she got picked up for a play-date. Oh, what a goofball.

Ignoring her objection, I gulped down my time-saving drink and ran back upstairs to get dressed. Finally, I looked out my window that perfectly framed the whole city. First day of summer vacation and it was absolutely perfect. Just hot enough to be fun without making you melt across the pavement. A breeze was just strong enough to stir up some whimsy in my soul. It really was a perfect day. My friends seemed to think the same thing, because they were shouting up at me before I had time to really soak in the view.

"Yo! Red!" Grant barked. "Get down here! We're gonna go tear up the mall!"

"C'moooon, Rick!" Minx beckoned. "Grant's brother got us VIP passes for that new movie theater!"

Avali chimed in, "I'm free all day! Sam's got Sophia for the day!"

My friends were free all summer. It was going to be the season we finally joined the Pro Leagues, and Mom was finally coming home tomorrow. I'd never felt as much happiness as I did when I was running down the stairs that day. Caloe waved goodbye - she was fine by herself as long if it was for a short wait, such as waiting to be picked up like today - and out I ran.

* * *

I'd tell you what movie we watched that day if I could remember it. Not that it was bad or anything, but it wasn't what my attention was on. Grant finally asked Minx out in that theater. About time, too. Avali and I had started making bets to see if 'this time, for sure' was really the one. It was twenty bucks well lost. Of course, they ran off to do who-knows-what, and that left just Avy and I to watch the end of the movie we hadn't really been watching.

That's the only part of that whole piece of film I can remember, and it's because she and I stopped talking. Avali and I didn't really talk to each other without Grant or Minx around. If we did, it was a couple sentences, tops. Our little games and bets were something, sure, but they were always centered around Grant or Minx. Besides that? We were only friends in the loosest sense of the word. Never could figure out why. She always looked at me as if something was wrong, like my mere presence was distressing or outright depressing. Well, if I knew then what I know now, I guess I'd feel the same. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Avali and I walked out of the movie theater, bored out of our minds and unsure what to do with just the two of us.

* * *

We were in the park by this point. I remember it clearly. Had I been paying attention, I would've realized what was coming. A picturesque sunset loomed over the horizon. It looked less like the sky and more like a massive canvas splashed with all manners of beautiful pigments. Of course, it was only noon by then, but I didn't think about that.

We'd sat down on some park bench and idly began tapping and scrolling through our phones. I wish I still had mine. Ominous as the sunset was, or rather, should have been, it was a sight to behold. I took at least a dozen pictures of it. The way I managed to ignore the obviously unnatural phenomenon happening before my eyes was spectacular. I wish I could do that again.

"...Emmerich?"

Before my eyes could reach her, she slid across the seat and pressed her cheek to my shoulder, wrapping her arms around one of mine. I think I was fortunate enough to not know what loneliness really looked like until Avali called my attention.

"...Emmerich, can we talk?" she pleaded. I told her to go ahead, but she went silent for the longest while. Then, in a dry voice I'd never heard her use before, she whimpered, "I...I'm...I'm afraid."

That was all she would offer. I spoke, I went on and on, rambling about everything I could think about, but an admission of fear was the last thing Avali ever said to me.

My phone began buzzing incessantly, the sound of vibration somehow managing to overpower my ringtone. It was at this point that I began to feel an overwhelming sensation of dread, though the screaming pleas for help from voices I didn't recognize coming from my phone likely contributed to this.

I'm not sure who they were. Still don't know, to this day. The fact that I never really answered the calls, let alone looked at the screen, though, it told me that something horrible was happening. And then I began to watch as my world came apart at the seams.

* * *

There is no scene more physically sickening than the end of the world. The city I'd called home since birth was being ripped apart by madness. I'd like to say it was something more material, but even with my current knowledge, I can liken it only to raw insanity.

The sky went black, with only that painted sunset, now looming above us all, to illuminate the world. Light fell at angles no eye should be forced to witness, and shadows threatened to consume the people they were attached to.

People ran around, screaming without purpose. I can't remember if there were monsters running amok. I can't remember if that would've made a difference. Even now, I'm not sure if the city I saw was real, or perhaps a hallucination I had before things managed to get even worse. A deep, crackling whine pierced the air as Inkopolis Tower went down. The Zapfish were unmistakably dead; though how could anyone tell unless they stopped screaming for a second?

Imagine being the sole sane person in a world of madness - so sorry for the cliche - and you would have my predicament. It was almost funny, really, watching people devolve into blindly throwing anything in arm's reach at anything in their line of sight...or, at least, it was funny until I saw one of my old friends get beaten with a brick. That's when the running began and the pressure finally began to press down on me. I had to get home.

It's poetic irony - or at least, I think that's the term - watching a place like Inkopolis die. Maybe not to a jellyfish or an urchin, but definitely to an Inkling or Octoling like me. Seeing all the colors fall right off the walls and flood the streets. Every droplet of that paint had someone's heart, soul, and emotion in it. Love, pride, and happiness all ran past my ankles and into the sewers. In any other situation, it would've been a deep cut to the city's culture, but I think everyone would be satisfied with regaining their sanity at that point.

The sun had turned from normal (or as normal as a sky-consuming sigil could get) to what I can only call a mural. Reds and blues swirled into the center of the 'sun' where a black spot had grown. It's light was akin to that of a stained glass window's, covering the world in unusual and beautiful hues that only seemed to grow more intense the closer I got to home. The spotlights swirled and danced, casting odd reflections to the eyes of whoever stared into the light. I recall seeing my world as both utopian and dystopian with seconds between the two states.

If I may get a bit personal for a second, have you ever learned something that you immediately regretted? And I don't mean some sort of, say, "Oh, I wish I didn't learn what nougat is!"-type of revelation. The things I learned from those horrible lights alone were akin to being physically wounded. Every step I took under them was like a new blade in my chest. I'm amazed I wasn't reduced to the leagues of screaming madmen that threatened to devour the city as I fled back home.

* * *

I was alone as I silently watched the end of the world from my room. Caloe was gone. I hadn't heard anything from Grant or Minx. Avali...I tried not to think too much about. I didn't really fret too much about where they'd gone. No matter what was going to happen, I figured we'd be meeting again soon anyways, so why worry?

I'd never seen colors so bright or vibrant as the ones I did before the mural in the sky suddenly went dim. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The sky began to turn blue. Birds chirped again. The breeze floated in like nothing happened. As I found myself laying on the floor, I began to wonder if I'd just dreamt it all. Cautiously, I walked down the stairs. Caloe was still gone, clearly still in bed, that goofball, and just like that, it was the same morning again. I laughed hysterically, just happy for the world to be in one piece. As I grabbed an instant breakfast, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to see my mother, bloodied and battered, and the sky's sigil burning against the blue sky.

"Emmerich..." she gasped, collapsing into the house, "my poor baby...did I ever...tell you...about...your brother...?"

I shook my head, not as an answer, but in horrified confusion.

"It's okay...everything's going to be okay...Manifest...it's gone now...we have time...but...you might...have to meet him...."

I stopped paying attention. I was staring out at the street. It wasn't mine. It was the other place's street. The one I saw in the blue light. People I'd never seen before were running around in bizarre clothes. I gently propped Mom up on the couch before stepping outside.

The sidewalk was broken up by streaks of light. People appeared and disappeared between these small fissures, not seeming to realize where they were headed. These cracks in the ground spread and deepened. Entire vehicles, bizarre and alien as they were, rushed out and swerved from the breaks in the world.

Without even truly knowing what was happening, I understood what I was seeing: two worlds were beginning to crash and overlap into one another. The only thing I didn't know was why.

* * *

Before I left the house for the last time, I talked with Mom for a bit.

I can't say much about what she said; I've forced myself to forget most of it so no one can get her secrets, but I'll share some of what I remember from that last talk we shared.

In that period of wrong light and chaos, **something** was lurking just 'outside' and had tried to get 'in.' It was Mom's job to take care of it. She'd fought valiantly, but failed to actually slay whatever was out there.

The **thing** escaped.

She wasn't aware of what was happening outside.

And judging by her injuries, the victory was about to become Pyrrhic in nature.

I said "I love you" for the last time before taking a walk outside.

At this point, real life had become indistinguishable from a night terror.

* * *

It was the strangest thing.

Right before the cracks in the world overwhelmed us all and everything went black for the last time.

I found myself standing in the middle of a street.

There was another boy, about my age, standing across from me.

And he had my face.

He was Blue.


	2. Blue's World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein a deeply unhappy boy tries to rebel against a crumbling, dystopian world.

It was a pretty good morning, all things considered. I got dragged out of bed by my sister while she screamed about how lazy I was. Something about how Lily was gonna be pissed if I kept acting like this. Well fuck her. Serves her right for having me.

“EMMET,” Caloe screamed as she throttled me, “JUST DO THE DAMN DISHES, SQUID!” I wound up being chucked into the kitchen. “You will **not** embarrass me in front of Valerie!”

Yeah, the random chick she met in a district sweep for rebels was really gonna judge the princess of Neo Octopolis by her dirty dishes. Not like there were any. A single plate from her own breakfast was in the sink. God, what a dumbass.

After nearly killing myself in the steam trap sauna that was the kitchen, I found her shaking at the dining room table, staring at her messenger. She only got to see people when she went out on business for Lily or when the city’s Inkling rebels tried to kill me to make some statement, so having anyone besides me come home to see her casually was groundbreaking.

“What’re you staring at?!” she screeched. “Go away! Make yourself useful, ‘prince!’”

Caloe never let me forget I’m not royalty. I decided to respond in kind. “Texting your boyfriend?”

She sent me to the floor in seconds. “Not in the mood for your games, asshole!”

I grumbled something about how she’d have to tell Lily about Valerie sooner or later, but she just shouted at me to leave. That’s why that bitch was on her way here, introductions and all that trash, but it’s not like I was going to let my dumbass of a sister get the last word. Still, I was kinda worried about how Lily would react; she’d been on Caloe’s case for months now about choosing a suitor and giving her granddaughters. I wasn’t just taking a walk to ditch my sister and her mood, I was getting the hell out of dodge before Caloe could drop the bomb on Lily.

* * *

Outside wasn’t much better. At least there’s only one person I really hate at home, but _outside?_ I’ve nearly been _hanged_ outside. FUCK outside…is what I would’ve said if home didn’t have a greater atmosphere of dread in it than normal.

Let me paint you a picture. Lily was still trying to get out of the ‘recovery phase’ of the whole societal conquest thing, so the streets of Neo Octopolis were filthy. The ‘police’ were literally called death squads, the ‘heroic rebels’ were bloodthirsty terrorists that never passed up an opportunity to flex their egos in any way possible, and the normal ‘people’ were all assholes. You were more likely to have a giant sack of money fall from the ugly, polluted sky along with a boat full of babes and champagne than have a day without nearly dying here. The ‘recovery’ was never going to end unless Lily got off her ass and did something, but she was too busy ignoring everything to do that. Disgusting, stagnant city.

“Hey, you!” Oh god, this guy. “Emmet! Emmet, Emmet, Emmet!”

Trelis Thalli. An Inkling slave for one of the city’s richer families. The only other person in the city besides Caloe who didn’t despise me. An annoying dog who constantly sucked up to me, _me_ of all people, and never fucking left me alone after he caught me. Sometimes I’d rather the lynch mobs finally kill me than deal with Trelis. Unfortunately, he was the only thing I could consider calling a friend…usually.

“What is it, Trel?”

“Dude, dude, there’s something huge going on!”

“Tends to be.”

“No, no, Emmet! This is big! Like, really big! And bad!”

With a drawn-out groan, I gave in. “…What is it, Trelis?”

“The world is gonna end today!”

I laughed in his face. He was always dragging me gossip like this. Something he’d heard his masters talk about from his quarters, probably. “No, it’s not.”

“Really, Emmet! This is serious! The sci…say…see…”

I smacked him. “Science.” God, his grasp on the Octarian language was atrocious.

“Science! The science council is going to make an emergency announcement soon! We have to get ready!”

“We?”

Always trying to rope me into going on ‘adventures’ with him. Last time I humored him, it turned out the rebels tricked the gullible motherfucker into setting up an ambush for me. That bit about me nearly getting hanged? _He’s_ the reason. The only reason I lived was because we were out past curfew and Caloe was searching for us. Truth be told, I was planning on following him again, no matter what he suggested. Then, the second we got out of sight, I was going to cave his head in with a pipe or a brick or whatever was around.

“S-sorry, Mr. Caroe.”

That was the only thing that got me to reconsider. Not once in the entire time that I’d known him did he ever use my last name, nor did he ever apologize for irritating me. Something _was_ up. “…When’s this science council thing happening?”

He perked up, just like a dog. “Very soon! A couple hours, tops!”

I shook my head and started walking towards the Octarian Commons. “C’mon, let’s find somewhere to watch this thing.”

* * *

Besides Lily’s manor, the Octarian Commons was the only ‘normal’ place in the city. The fact that it was under constant surveillance and surrounded by snipers might’ve contributed to that. They had coffee and TV, if you wanted to catch the latest ‘mind-blowing’ propaganda signals. Outside of that and that washed-up old DJ’s weekly shows, though, it was almost decent. Too good to be true, even.

“Emmet, Emmet! Look, the TV, Emmet!”

I would’ve enjoyed it more if Trelis weren’t there, but there was no chance I was going to risk him following me all the way back home. If anything was happening between Lily and Caloe, he’d probably wind up killed, and I didn’t want to deal with reimbursing his masters.

“…reverberations in the planet’s core, unlike anything ever recorded. These could easily lead to a cataclysmic—”

A rumble went through the floor and I groaned. _Of course_ everything would go to shit right before anyone could explain.

The screen started fizzling, and the Octarians started getting antsy. “—quake that could wipe out the—city in—go—shelter—”

People stampeded out of the Commons. Trelis just stood around while I got a drink from the automatic kiosk. “E-Emmet, aren’t we gonna run?!”

Simple guy. He really was. “Run where, Trelis?”

That was too big of a question for his squid brain to handle. He stood there, staring at me for about a minute, until he blurted out, “Shelter!”

The Commons had some new blend of beans. I enjoyed it. It had this weird tang to it. Like bitterness on top of bitterness. If I had bothered to remember the name, I probably would’ve started going to the Commons more frequently just to get more. It might’ve become my favorite drink.

You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this. Well, it’s because Trelis was right. Proof that the world was going crazy, I guess. There was this huge “BOOM!” that went off right after I took that first sip. In hindsight, Trelis probably died. I don’t know at the time, still don’t know for sure, but it wasn’t my fault, so I don’t really care. It was probably his time or whatever.

I had a massive chunk of something, concrete or metal or something along those lines, sticking right out of my chest. Bleeding out like that fucking sucked, but I was too pissed to care. Trelis probably lured me into another fucking ambush. Someone must’ve spiked my coffee. If he had the audacity to face me after this, I was going to strangle him. I could probably get away with just curbstomping the fucking rat to death, but I really wanted it to be personal and intimate, really let him know how badly he fucked up. All the havoc was just my drugged brain playing tricks on me. That was the only way I could explain being able to get back up after dying like that.

I walked out of the ruined Commons, my whole body flickering between searing pain and going totally numb. My head was spinning, but I could tell the city was in worse shape than usual. I think there was some weird thing in the sky. It couldn’t have been a ship or anything, because it was flat. It looked like someone sprayed some shitty modern art on the sky or something.

I stumbled through the streets, ears ringing and blood pouring out of the imaginary hole in my chest, when an Inkling bumped into me. He and his buddies stared at me for a while, but, grungy scavengers that they are, they decided to take advantage of all the bullshit going on and tried stabbing me to death right then and there. I just stood there. It seems stupid in hindsight, but I was too out of it to think about dodging.

The Inkling’s blade cuts right through my neck. The leader of the little group starts laughing, probably because I look like a mess, but the dumbass doesn’t realize that I’m only getting angrier and angrier with every second I’m forced to look at his ugly fucking face. How I’m standing at this point, I have no clue, but I get this tingly feeling in my chest.

The plan was to run, find Caloe, and get her to beat these guys to the brink of death. That always worked. Nearly hanged? Caloe comes to save the day. Stabbed in an alley? Caloe saves the day. Death squad ‘accidentally’ points a gun at my head? Caloe gives them slave labor for a year. And after it all, she carries me home and makes sure I’m okay. Despite the way we treat each other, Caloe never lets me down. All I had to do was run and get Caloe, and everything would be okay.

Instead, I just tear the guy’s machete out of my neck. They didn’t expect that. Neither did I, really. From the Inkling’s grip to going right across his eyes. A perfect horizontal split that kept getting deeper until I hacked the top half of the Inkling’s head off.

I laughed at the scene. The other Inklings were just backing away, like nothing happened. They really expected me to let them off the hook. I don’t laugh very often, but man oh man, I started fucking _cackling_. It felt so good. I finally I realized I was strong. The bratty half-breed, Lily’s bastard prince, _stupid little Emmet_ who had his sister fight his battles for him wasn’t as weak as he looked, now was he? And I was going to make sure everyone in this doomed city knew that before the world ended. Starting with the rest of the gang that delivered this revelation to me.

There I was, staggering down the street, swinging my machete at anyone who had the misfortune to enter my line of sight, not quite sure what to do. I was happy, but still upset at the same time. Everyone seemed to be killing each other now. What made my triumph so special now that everyone was losing their restraint?

Then _it_ started talking to me. “Kill Lily.”

The voice in the back of my head didn’t say much else, but the suggestion filled me with so much energy. It was like a wizard just injected steroids, meth, and a bunch of good shit directly into my eye sockets then pointed me toward a boxing ring; there was no denying the impulse. My dream was about to be a reality. She thought she regretted having me now? Regret was going to be a _grave understatement_ after I was done.

* * *

There was definitely something wrong with the way I looked. Or maybe the manor guards finally had their chance to gun me down. Possibly both. It didn’t matter why, though, because when your aim is so bad that a direct hit does nothing, it means you were probably never cut out to be a sharpshooter anyways. I cut my way through the metal gate and their chest cavities before proceeding into the manor’s tower. Revenge is a powerful thing; it’s a way of storing the wrongs done unto you, letting them fester and grow, and then throwing them back at those who crossed you with greater intensity. That’s a fancy way of saying I killed almost every staff member I recognized. There were some that got to live, not that there was much of a point with the world ending, but I’m sure they appreciated the gesture.

I was getting closer to the tower’s penthouse. I took the stairs to savor the suspense. Each step was a new possibility that ran through my head. All sorts of gruesome images and sushi recipes came and went. But my happy climb was interrupted with the sound of crashing and shouting. The Inklings had stormed in after me.

I arrived to see the chaos of Neo Octopolis seeping into my old home. They were throwing firebombs around and stealing what they could. I couldn’t care less about the house or the stuff, but then I heard Caloe screaming. Caloe never screams, not like that. Caloe’s never afraid like that.

I probably sound like a sociopath, but let me say that I had some compassion for the people I was killing. Most of them died from the first swing, and the rest was just for show. The exceptions thus far deserved what I did, but besides that, I’d call myself merciful.

They tied my sister up and set her on fire. Mercy was dead. In the time it would take me to butcher these monsters, fill something up with water, and douse the flames, Caloe would die too. So, I cut out the middleman. I forced each of them to apologize, then I slashed them all open as impromptu fire hydrants to douse their own flames.

And then, as I cut the ropes off my sister, my high finally came crashing down.

“I’m sorry…” she whimpered. She placed a charred hand on my face and told me she loved me.

She’s never said that. Ever. To anyone. _Ever._ She probably hasn’t even said it to Valerie.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Good god, this wasn’t what I wanted at all.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Watching her pained struggle to breathe nearly brought me to tears. But instead, I laughed. It was fucked up of me, but that’s all I could do. There wasn’t any point in crying – there never is – but I guess, in some way, I was hoping my underused laugh would somehow get Caloe to laugh and everything would be okay.

Instead, my own laugh ended me. “**Caloe? _Caloe?!_**” My blood became ice. I was trapped. The footsteps got closer and closer. I could hear her breath, filled with wrath, getting closer. Whatever was happening to me, be it a bad trip or my own unresolved anger letting me keep standing after death, there was nothing that could protect me from—

A metal rod burst through my stomach, splashing Caloe’s face with blue.

“**How dare you touch my daughter, you ten-limbed bastard!**”

I was thrown into the window that spanned the room’s entire wall, causing the entire thing to splinter from the force. Dear god, I was such a fucking idiot. My strength was useless. I was an Inkling. A scavenger, by my own definition. All I’d done since my ‘awakening’ was slay other weaklings. How did I ever get it in my head that I could kill Lily?

Caloe wheezed out my name. Lily looked over at my crumpled form and stood up straight. She made a face I’d never seen her make before. And I was afraid. ‘New’ and ‘Lily’ are two words that always turn out badly for me when they’re combined. “**My baby blue jay…**”

No, that’s the trap. The tone she uses before something bad happens to me. Not that it could be considered a trap this time, given that I was cornered. I was fucked. She was finally going to finish the job, and she could take all the time she wanted because there was no escape from the inevitable.

Until the tremors finally became strong enough to be felt from the top of the manor’s tower, that is. There were probably mere minutes left until everything crumbled down to nothing. And that gave me one last idea.

With a disgusting smile and all my remaining strength, I pushed myself backwards and slammed against the window. It didn’t matter how I died at this point. The world was about to end, we were _all_ going to die. I gave Lily a goodbye in the form of a twisted chuckle. The window broke, and the last thing I heard from the queen of Neo Octopolis was my own name. “**EMMET!**” All it did was leave me bitter. The first time she used my name in years and it was right before we all died. Fuck that. Fuck Lily, and fuck that name. Who needed Emmet, anyways? I didn't need him. That was an Inkling's name. I didn't need a weak name like that, something pathetic chosen for me by a woman who never wanted me in the first place.

Light was shining from cracks in the ground and the sky. Lots of colors, none of them where they were supposed to be. People ran into the light blindly, and people ran out. Thing is, the stuff that came in and out didn’t match. Some kid walked in, and out walked an old man. A flying cargo skiff careened into one of the rifts, and out came an Inkling pleasure craft I’ve only ever seen in history books. Normal aircraft, normal vehicles, normal people….

It clicked right before I hit the pavement. Another world was crashing into ours. All the chaos was the result of another city trying to overlap itself over our own. If only I jumped out of the manor from closer to the ground, I might’ve done some sightseeing in the other world.

* * *

I landed face-first in the middle of an abandoned street, nowhere close to where I was falling. The metal rod was knocked out of my back and got flung somewhere, but I was more interested in the fact that I survived. In fact, fuck survived, it was like nothing had happened to me that day. My clothes were clean and intact, my hair was freshly tied, and my body had no signs of getting stabbed in the neck or impaled twice.

It was the strangest thing, though.

Before I could think any further, I realized someone was watching me.

It happened right before the cracks ripped everything apart.

There was someone else on the street. A guy, about my age, but taller.

And he had my face.

He was Red.


End file.
